There are a variety of conditions that require injection of fluids into, or withdrawing fluids from, parts of a body below the surface of the skin of the body. Thus, there are a wide variety of multi-lumen catheters available for such use. One aspect of vascular access with catheters involves insertion of the catheter into a blood vessel, which has risks associated therewith such as air embolism and blood loss. With respect to access of an arterial vessel, high pressures may result in the significant loss of blood without the use of a valve that closes the proximal end of the accessing instrument. In prior art systems, clamps or manual pinching of the accessing device have been used as methods to prevent blood loss. However, it would be advantageous in a catheter to offer a connector with a hemostasis valve that would permit vascular access without the associated risks of air embolism and blood loss.
Unfortunately, there are several problems with the currently offered valves for use with an open ended catheter. For example, the flow path through the valve may be restricted due to a restricted cross-sectional area, there exists a dead space above or below the valve where blood accumulates, making it difficult to clean the valve, and use of a guidewire traversing through the valve is often not enabled. In addition, many of the currently offered valves cannot be accessed multiple times as they are typically screwed on to a catheter and discarded after use.
Therefore, there is a need for a hemostasis valve that solves the above-mentioned problems and thereby reduces the risk of contamination and permits repeated use of the valve.